2/19/00:
Over dinner at their home, my
sister and
brother-in-law tell me about the
ghost they have both seen in their house, and which they suspect has disturbed my nephew.
This is more disturbing coming from them, since I consider them notably rational, pragmatic people, given neither to fabrications nor hallucinations.
My Reverend Powers have been on my mind lately, so I ask them if they need an exorcism. My sister says "oh, he's not hostile, he doesn't seem to know we're here, I think he just got lost, or doesn't know he doesn't belong here anymore". Is that a yes or a no? It is almost as if they find their ghost a charming curiosity, and don't mind keeping it, despite the suspected terror it inspires in their toddler.
I have never seen a ghost; I have always had some atavistic fear of being alone in the dark, but I recognize it as being as irrational as my hysterical response to needles, or my phobic reaction to spiders. I tend to believe in consensual hallucination more than ghosts, and that phrase seems applicable here.
Three factors persuade me to really follow through with my informal exorcism: first, if I ever did see a ghost, I would probably soil myself. I consider myself a rationalist, and contact with a supernormal entity would undermine my entire worldview, over and above the immediate creep-out factor. Second, even if my sister and her husband get something out of being haunted, my nephew has no such will and deserves a childhood free of hauntings. Third, if some poor restless soul is "stuck" in the house, wouldn't it be happier elsewhere?
Once on each floor, including cellar and attic, I pray the Lord's Prayer, and ask the God of my understanding to extend His comfort, peace, and kingdom to any restless souls on the property - admittedly, so that I don't have to see them, but also for my nephew's sake, and for the sake of the confused, deceased stranger as well. This procession takes a little courage on my part; I'm decidely creeped out already, and it would be easy for the rationalist in me to rationalize inaction.
That's a really lame exorcism story, I know, but it's the only one I have. I promise I won't node any more exorcisms unless I actually sense the restless spirit myself.
May 2001: It occurs to me to ask my sister about their haunt. "Haven't seen him for... well, a long time now. Maybe a year. Why?" I hadn't mentioned the exorcism, at the time, so I take the opportunity. I find it curious that the sightings stopped, with no knowledge of my actions on their part, coinciding with the exorcism.